Raph and April: Another Life
by eno1988
Summary: Sequel to Raph and April: Finding April.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

April's eyes cracked open under the harsh bright white walls of her room. She was exhausted and her body felt old and creaky. She and Raph were patrolling the Foot the previous night when they were caught and they barely made it out alive. She struggled to even roll over. Her hand reached over for Raph, but she didn't feel him. Her head lolled over and his side of the bed was empty and cold.

"What the hell?" April thought out loud.

She slowly sat up and examined her arms and legs that were covered in bruises. She slowly massaged her neck and wished Raph was here to do it for her. When did she start to feel so old? It was like the six year difference between twenty-one and twenty-seven on a drinking binge. Twenty-one you could get up and go jog the hangover away. Twenty-seven you might as well wake up in a body bag. The mutagen used to take away all the next day pain, but now it felt like it was fading. She was beat up and tired.

Last night was a close call and it was becoming more and more frequent. The two of them had been working endlessly for months patrolling the Foot and taking down small time operation that funded them. But it seemed like lately they were losing steam. April felt like she was losing control. Of her mission and of her relationship. She felt like Raph was becoming distant and regretting leaving his family. Neither of them had seen any of the guys or Splinter since Raph had made his crazy decision to come be with April. There was a tap at the door.

"Come in."

Vern slipped in with a mug for April, "How ya feeling?"

"Like hammered dog shit." April groaned and accepted the coffee from Vern, "Have you seen Raph?"

He nodded, "Yeah, he slipped out early this morning."

"What? Where?" She asked jumping out of bed.

Vern threw his hands over his eyes, "O'Neil, you're in your underwear!" He said as he peeked through his fingers.

"Oh, shut up, Vern. Where did he go?" She asked as she slipped on her jacket and threw her hair up in a pony tail.

He tilted his head to the side and rolled his eyes, "You know where he is."

Mikey was in the kitchen cooking a huge breakfast. The smell of eggs and bacon wafted through the lair when there was the sound of the lair door closing.

"Leo, Donny, I'm cooking breakfast so don't leave the lair." When he didn't get a response, he turned his head to see Raph standing there. Mikey dropped his spatula, "Oh, my God!" He ran to Raph and wrapped his arms around him. Raph winced in pain, but he didn't push Mikey away. He returned the hug as best he could, "Raph, what are you doing here? We haven't heard from you in months."

Raph felt his heart breaking because he could tell Mikey was crying, "I know, Mikey. I'm sorry. 'S been crazy taking down the Foot left and right."

Now, Mikey was openly crying as he held onto Raph and it never dawned on Raph just how much Mikey depended on him for one sided conversations, silent video game bonding sessions, and talks about what sex is like.

"Raph?"

He turned his head to see Leo and Donny in the living area, "Sup, bro's?"

"We thought you were dead." Leo choked on the words and he and Donny joined the hug.

Donny could feel the tension in Raph's body, "You're hurt, aren't you?"

Raph played tough as always, "Just a little beat up. Me and Ape had a close one last night with the Foot."

"Where's Angel Cakes?"

"She's back at the base. She doesn't know I came. I'll be in serious shit for this, but-" Raph paused as he felt the lump rise in his throat as he thought about how much he missed his brothers.

"It's okay, Raph. We know how you feel." Mikey assured him.

There was a knock at the door and all four heads turned. Leo looked at the three of them and went to open the door. April walked into the lair and stood in front of her four turtles. Her four favorite guys and the love of her life. Raph's jaw damn near hit the floor. For the first time in a long time, his April stood in front of him. Her hair was pulled up from her face, she was in jeans and knee high boots with a t-shirt, and her yellow leather jacket. She looked at each one of them before landing her eyes on Raphael's.

"Babe, I know you're pissed-" He began.

She shook her head fervently, "I'm not pissed off. I'm worried, but not pissed… Why didn't you just tell me you needed to be here instead of sneaking off?"

Raph felt bad now. April's voice was calm and collected, "Let's go talk. Mikey, I think your eggs are burnin'." He led April down the hall to his old room and closed the door behind him, "Sit down." April did so and waited frightened at what he was going to say, "I'm sorry I didn't wake you, but I knew if you were hurtin' half as bad as me, you needed sleep. I just- I just woke up this morning and realized it had almost been a year since I left my family… A year is a long time. And I know I'm not supposed to be here, but I miss 'em." Raph was trying to compose himself because now that he was home all he wanted to do was break down and cry. He looked at April who sat patiently as she always did for him and a sorrowful grin appeared on his face, "You. You look so damn beautiful right now. Do you know that? I have not seen you look like this in so long. I didn't even know you still had that yellow jacket… That jacket. That's how I always think of you. Wavy hair and a yellow jacket. That's my April." He sat on his knees in front of her so he could face her and April was so scared and confused she began to tear up.

She put her hands on his neck, "Raph, what's wrong?" Raph just shook his head and let his face bury into her hands, "Do you regret leaving here to come with me? Do you want to leave?"

He looked back up at her, "Not without you I don't."

"I can't leave, Raph. They made me and they protect me from the Foot. I can't just go back to reporting. I'm dead."

Raph held her hands in his, "I'll protect you. They didn't make you. You're April and you don't owe them anything else. You've done your part."

"And what am I supposed to do? They won't let me walk away. I'm stuck and I told you this is how it is and this is why I told you to stay here because I knew this is the day that would inevitably happen. That you would be torn between me and your brothers. I know you love me, but I also know you are one-fourth of a whole and without you your brothers can't be whole just like you can't without them."

"Stop talking like that. I'm not leavin' you there." He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "I'm not losing you to them. I'm gonna find a way and I'll make it happen. I swear I will."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

April sank into the large hot tub Donny had hooked up a while back for the guys to soak in after long nights of kicking ass. Now she was more than emotionally drained as well as physically. Raph had just petrified her into thinking he was about to end their relationship and while he didn't do that, she now knew for certain he was looking for a way out with April. Stress was consuming her living this life. She missed the easier, simpler days as a struggling reporter with a hot mutated boyfriend. Those were the days. And as much as everything was tearing her up, she couldn't stop thinking about all the pain she was in. The pain hadn't been this bad since before her body was injected with mutagen. Something was wrong. It was beginning to feel like it wasn't working anymore, but that couldn't be possible. It was in her system, an integral part of her being now. Everything was spiraling out of control quickly and it scared her shitless. What if Raph couldn't deal with it anymore and just left her there? What if he got tired of waiting for her to get out? What would happen if she did try and leave? The what if's were maddening!

She felt like she would finally be able to doze off when she felt two large hands at the base of her neck. Her eyes opened just enough to see him. He grinned at her and she scooted up so Raph could slide in behind her. He made himself comfortable against the wall of the hot tub and slipped one large arm around April and pulled her against his plastron. She giggled sleepily keeping her eyes closed as he buried his face into her neck sucking and kissing her tenderly while he massaged her shoulders and arms. Her mouth parted in pleasure and her head fell back on his large chest. She loved so much about her boyfriend, but it was times like this that April was sure it was his hands she loved the most.

The countless nights they had spent out together taking down the low lives of the city, she had seen his hands inflict irreparable damage, yet when he touched her it was the polar opposite. His hands could sooth her aches and pains just as easily as he could pummel some creep into oblivion. It turned her on just thinking about how tough he was with everyone else he encountered in his life and saved all his tender loving care just for her.

His thick fingers slowly worked down her tired biceps and triceps. A low moan escaped her mouth and she turned into Raph's kisses he was generously covering her neck and shoulders in. She waited patiently for his lips to find hers. He moved to her jaw and up to her forehead. April chuckled lightly as he played with her. His fingers were massaging the palms of her hands working her body into complete mush. She was utterly useless and it felt like heaven. Raph laid her hands down on his thighs that were encasing her supple body. Then his attention turned to her hips. He grasped her flesh and began to knead away the aches while he still avoided her lips, but she waited ever so patiently because she knew he would get to that.

Raph worked his way up her stomach. He watched his green hands work in the contrast of her creamy skin. It's something that used to make him cringe but not anymore. Now he had grown to appreciate it. It's what brought them together. If he had been just some regular Joe walking around New York City she probably would have never noticed him, so he learned not to mourn what he lacked anymore because he had her and no one else could say that. His thumbs ran up and down the middle of her stomach with light pressure.

"Babe. Not the stomach, that's driving me insane." April groaned.

Raph smirked, "Shut up."

Recently the pair had been so busy that they never hit the gym because they were on the streets and only went back to the base to sleep. While April was still in shape by almost anyone's standards, she was becoming soft again. It drove her crazy, but Raph could barely manage to contain himself. He loved it. She looked so feminine and curvy now compared to what she had become.

She softly nuzzled his cheek coaxing him to her, but he resisted still. His fingers worked up avoiding her breasts up to her collar bone. April opened her eyes to study him. He didn't look upset or out of sorts.

"Raphael."

"Yes, baby."

"Kiss me."

He chuckled lowly and looked at her lovingly, "I don't think you're in any condition for kissing."

She furrowed her brow, "Why not?"

"Because kissin' leads to sex and you're a little banged up." He explained as he glided his hands up and down her arms.

"Then what was the point of massaging and kissing on me?"

He smiled at her increasingly frustrated state, "To make you feel better."

"It did and now I want the lovin', too." She said in all seriousness, but Raph couldn't help but laugh at her wording.

"Babe, you need to relax."

April sighed heavily and turned herself around to face him, "Raph, do you realize how long it's been since we've had sex?"

He rolled his eyes, "No, I've completely forgotten that there was snow on the ground and now it's May. Babe, I know it's been a long time and believe me I want to, but you're too banged up today. We took an ass kickin' last night."

Her expression softened, but she was not beaten. She moved to straddle him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt her loosening his bandana and she slipped it off his head. She gently set it on the edge of the tub. She pulled back to face him. She loved his face without the mask. His eyes were so brilliant and golden.

"Make love to me like only you can." April pleaded and if he said no to that, then she would drop it.

Raphael sat for a moment looking into her eyes. The resolve he had just moments ago was fading quickly as April looked at him with her big, blue eyes. Before April was prepared his lips attacked hers and she yelped in surprise before it melted into it with a pleasure filled moan. He wrapped his large arms around her tightly and she did the same as if they were afraid they might somehow slip away from each other. She didn't want anything else in the world, but this. Raph kissed her with enthusiasm as much as he could all over her. Her head lolled back in pure ecstasy and he quickly took advantage taking one of her breasts with his mouth. April put her hand on her mouth to keep from screaming with pleasure.

He slowly kissed his way back up her chest. The haste seemed to disappear as they looked at each other. April was more than ready and his erection had made its way out. He stroked her face and she turned into his palm kissing it softly as she gazed at him. Without another word, Raph took hold of April's hips and placed her on top of him. She slid down slowly taking him in little by little. It had been so long and she could tell by how she stretched around him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and bit down on his tough exterior to stifle her noises.

Raph's head fell back as he tried to commit the feeling to memory. It always felt good, but it felt the best when they hadn't had sex in a long time. It's almost like the first time again. April continued to slowly slip up and down as she became accustomed all over again. Soon she was moving a little quicker and Raph couldn't form any sort of words in the English vocabulary, just noises as he watched April moved up and down. He could feel the water slowing her down. Finally, she collapsed on him unable to move her legs any more. Raph took her thighs in his hands and moved to the opposite side of the tub and set April on the edge and he knelt down on the bench giving him the perfect angel.

He pushed back inside April and he attacked her neck with his mouth. His eyes barely cracked open and he nearly came then and there. He could see his and April's reflection in the mirror hanging on the back of the door. Raph watched in awe. He watched the way April's ass jiggled every time he moved in and out. He watched his large fingers dig into her skin as he grasped her tighter. He watched her back arch every time he hit that magic spot. It was enough to push him over the edge. He had always known how good it felt, but seeing them together through his own eyes took everything to another level. He could see the love. He could see the passion. He could see the animal instincts as they unfolded.

He kept going fervently when he realized the mirror was moving away from his sight. His eyes grew wide as he realized the door was opening. Mikey walked in and opened his mouth to speak until he saw what he walked in on. He froze in place out of shock. Raph quickly moved his hand up to April's head to make sure she didn't notice his brother. Mikey's eyes finally moved away from April's ass up to his brothers burning glare as he kept his pace to not alert her to anything interrupting their perfect time together. Mikey quickly got a grip and high tailed it out of the room, quietly closing the door. Once in the hallway he began contemplating which country he would soon be moving to because Raph was going to murder him.

Raph tried to get his head back in the game so April wouldn't be disappointed. He pulled back and kissed her deeply, letting their tongues intertwine. Her nails dug into his shoulders and he felt her tightening around his dick. She whispered his name in his ear hot and heavy with passion. The heat of her breath filled his senses and pushed him over the edge taking April with him. They both struggled to keep their voices low, but Raph already knew the secret was blown. April melted like butter into arms as they sank back in the water.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mikey was nervous and fidgeting on the couch as Donnie was trying to get him to play video games with him. It had been a couple of hours since he had walked in on Raph and April. Part of him had hoped maybe he would just let it go and the other part of him was laughing at him for even thinking the former.

"Dude, you need to calm down. You look like you're going to have a stroke." Donnie joked in his monotone voice.

"If it was possible, I hope it kills me." Mikey retorted as he kept looking toward Raph's bedroom door.

Donnie rolled his eyes and paused his game, "Mikey, what is your deal? You went from annoyingly happy to perpetually frightened. Did you break something?"

Mikey shook his head as he glanced towards Raph's door again, "No, I didn't break anything, but, bro some things can never be unseen."

"Spill now." The purple turtle said firmly.

Mikey sighed heavily and laid his forehead in his palms, "Raph is gonna murder me, Donnie. You can have my video games and my chucks."

"Raph was so happy to see you. Why would he kill you?" He questioned.

"I forgot Raph and April were soaking in the hot tub and I went in there."

Donnie furrowed his brow in confusion, "So? It's a high tub, I doubt you could see April's- her uh, well, you know her stuff."

Mikey groaned and threw his head back on the pizza box couch, then faced Donnie with a face full of shame, "Well, you're right. I wouldn't have seen anything if they had been sitting in it."

"Were they getting out?" He asked still unable to understand where Mikey was going with this.

The youngest brother shook his head in exasperation because he didn't want to have to come out and say it. He was hoping Donnie would just get it, "No, Don, he was fucking her on the edge of the tub facing the door and he saw me come in!"

Donnie's eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open, "What?!"

Mikey nodded, "Yeah. I saw April's whole back side while Raph was just going to pound town and April was the mayor."

Donnie ran his palm down his face, "What did they do when you walked in?"

"April didn't hear me walk in. She has no idea that I saw them." Mikey explained.

"What? She didn't figure it out when Raph freaked out?"

"That's the thing, dude. He didn't even stop. He kept going and gave me the evil eye, but he did not miss a beat."

Donnie chuckled lowly, "Dude. It was like a live action porno."

"It's not funny, Don!" The orange turtle exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but of all the things you could do to piss Raph off this is the worst. So, can I go ahead and pick which games I want before Leo gets first dibs?" Donnie grinned.

Mikey and Donnie quickly shut up when they heard Raph's door quietly close. Raph appeared in the living room and looked straight at Mikey.

"Mikey, can I talk to you, please?" Raph asked rhetorically because everyone knew that Mikey had no choice in the matter.

"Yeah, I just need to go make sure I turned the oven off." He said quickly heading for the kitchen.

"Now." Raph demanded already headed towards Mikey's room.

Donnie mouthed good luck to Mikey as he headed down the hallway. Mikey shut the door behind him and Raph sat on the edge of his bed.

"Raph, I'm really sorry about what-" He began but Raph held up his hand to stop him.

"Look, Mikey, I was pissed earlier, but I'm not now. It coulda happened to anybody."

Mikey's face was in a state of shock. He was more than ready for a good killing, "Wow, thanks, Raph. I thought you were gonna kill me."

"Naw, it's okay." He reassured him.

He nodded in relief, "Can I ask you something. Though?" Raph waited patiently, "Why did you keep going after I walked in?"

Raph grinned uncomfortably, "Uh, well, I didn't want April to know you saw anything and if I had stopped she would have turned around and seen you. So, don't say anything to her because she'll be embarrassed. But April and I haven't –uh, we haven't, you know done that in a long time and I didn't want to ruin it for her either."

Mikey went to sit by his brother, "What? But you two live together now. How are you not bonin' her every chance you get?"

"Cos… We're exhausted. We have no time for us living like this and I didn't really want to do it today because she is so busted up, but she knows exactly how to tighten my shell. Anyway, I hope we didn't scar ya for life or anything." Raph said patting Mikey on the shoulder.

"Anything but." He replied quietly.

Raph ran his hand down his face in embarrassment, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He stared down at his fidgeting hands for a moment, "I'm not trying to sound like I'm coming off gay or anything, but it was different seeing someone who looks like me doing that with a girl. It just made me – Ugh, it made me jealous for the first time of you and April, like really jealous. I'm so mad that you get that and I don't. I'm never gonna have that with a chick."

"We never thought any of us would. Maybe it will happen for you, too. Believe you me, I was the last one to think I would get a girl before any of you guys. The odds aren't great, but they're not impossible either." Raph nudged Mikey's shoulder.

"There's something else I don't get either."

"What's that?"

"How in the hell does April withstand that? She looks like she should just break in half." Mikey smirked.

A small egotistical glow came over Raph for a moment, "April's a trooper." With that Raph stood up, "I'm gonna go lay down with her. By the way, tell Donnie not to mention any of this to April."

Mikey smiled and nodded as Raph closed his door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Raph stirred around fighting off waking up, but it was inevitable. The unfamiliarity of his familiar room was reminding him they weren't where they were supposed to be. He knew Wayne would have figured out they were gone by now. April was unmoving in his arms. She was so peaceful. Raph tightened his arms around her and it sent a chill down his spine. She was so cold. Too cold. Raph quickly flicked his bed side lamp on and examined her.

"April?" He breathed becoming panicked as he tried to shake her awake.

His fingers searched her neck for a pulse. Nothing. He laid his head on her chest listening for a heartbeat. Nothing. He tried to stay calm as he could feel sobs creeping up his throat. He threw his large arm over April to the drawer on his nightstand and opened it. There was one of April's compacts. He opened in and held the mirror under April's nostrils. A small sigh of relief escaped when he saw her breath fog the mirror ever so slightly. But she was fading.

Raphael jumped out of the bed and scooped her cold naked form up wrapped in his sheet and ran out of his room, "Donnie! Donnie!"

Leo was sitting on the pizza box couch and panic spread over his face when he saw April, "He's on patrol with Mikey. What's wrong?!" He jumped up.

Raph's voice was ragged, "I don't know! She's cold and barely breathin'!"

"Shit. Donnie and Mikey are in Brooklyn." Leo said.

"I gotta get her back to the base!"

"Come on, let's take the shell razor and Mikey and Donnie can meet us there!"

Raph sped through New York while Leo sat in the back with April.

"Leo, catch." Raph tossed his cell back to Leo, "Call Vern. His number is under Dipshit."

"Vern?" Leo questioned and Raph gave him the evil eye in the rear view mirror, "Right, sorry. Not the time."

Raph watched the road as the background became a blur. He stayed focused on his task. Déjà vu was over taking him as his mind tried to go back to when the Foot took April and he thought she was dead. At this point the not knowing seemed better because the thought of her dying made him want to rip everyone and everything to shreds.

"Raph. Raph!" Leo shouted trying to get his attention.

"Yeah!"

"Donnie and Mikey are on their way and Vern is waiting at the door." Leo confirmed.

"Good, cos we're here." Raph squealed into the pitch black parking lot and jumped out of the razor.

Donnie and Mikey came sliding off the fire escape of the opposite building. Vern swung the discrete side door open and a couple of nurses rushed out with a gurney. Raph laid April on it. They all followed down the white halls. Everything began moving in slow motion as he ran after April. He watched as the doctors went through the doors with her that he could not enter.

"Raphael, you have to stay out here!" The doctor said putting his hands on his chest.

"The hell I do!" He spat about to push his way past.

"You're not scrubbed up. You'll contam-"

"Raph," Vern put his hand on his arm, "let him go take care of her."

He looked back at his brothers that were standing there defenseless. He suddenly realized they didn't have to come, yet here they were there for him if he needed them. Revealing themselves to everyone in the medical ward of this fucked up place he was living in. He didn't know what to say or do as his brothers stood there for him seemingly the most uncomfortable they had ever been.

"Look, Raph, all we can do is wait. So, I'll get the coffee and we're all going to sit here and wait together."

A while later, the five of them sat. Raph stayed in silence most of the time. He never touched his coffee. It sat there cold and bitter. Every so often, Donnie's sympathetic, yet jittery hand patted him gently. Raph never looked up or made any acknowledgement that he was conscious except for blinking. That is until he walked in. Raph looked up at Wayne. He firmly patted Raph shoulder.

"How are you holding up, son?" He asked gently.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Raph croaked and Wayne shook his head, "Then I'm not doing too damn good."

Wayne nodded, "I understand, Raphael." Then he turned his attention to the other large turtles, "I tell you, seeing one of you is nothing like seeing all four of you together. It's absolutely incredible. I'm Wayne O'Neil, April's uncle." He shook each of their hands as they exchanged names, "I'll be back shortly, Raphael. Hopefully, we'll hear something soon." With that, he made his exit.

"So, he's the one that made all this happen, huh?" Leo surmised as he sipped his coffee.

"Yeah, he's been tracking April her whole life." Vern confirmed.

"Look, I know this is a serious situation, but I gotta know. Vern, I thought you were dead. What the hell are you doing here with April and Raph?" Mikey asked still in shock.

Vern chuckled awkwardly, "Uh, well, I was the reason the farm got attacked when April was taken. The Foot had been following me since I was April's camera man. So, they put a tracker on the van and found the farmhouse… After Wayne caught wind of what happened to April, he found me and took me off the grid because he knew it was only a matter of time before the Foot came for me to keep me from talking." He took a shaky sip of his coffee, "So, I dedicated my time with him to finding April. Once we found her at the docks, I dedicated the rest of my life to having her back and watching her on the streets. And now I help her and Raphael out."

"Were you one of the guys on that video went to the docks to get her?" Donnie asked.

Vern nodded, "Yeah, I had to see her for myself. But once we got there I wish I hadn't. No one should have to see a friend or a loved one in the condition… I thought there was no way in hell that she could be saved and I was wrong. So, that's why I'm not worried now." He looked to Raph, "She's a survivor if nothing else. Listen, Raph, I know since you've been here it's irked you that I got to be here with her-"

"Vern, I don't want to hash this out now." He grunted.

"I'm not hashing anything. It's just something I want you to know." Vern insisted and Raph sighed and nodded for him to continue, "I know it hit you the wrong way that I was here with her that year and a half. It would any guy. But I also think you're mad about for reasons that aren't valid. I know in the back of your mind you're being typical you and thinking the worst of me and April being here together for so long, but I also think you know better. I tried to get her to go to you sooner, but she was afraid you had moved on and she didn't want to disrupt your life. She was scared to death to discover you may have moved on and forgotten her… And I just want you to know about all the nights that I stayed up with her while she talked about you and her. It was always you and it still is."

Raph buried his face in his palms for a moment and took a deep breath, "Vern, there are parts of me that can't stand you some days, but you make up for it when you say shit like that."

"Vern?" Donnie spoke up, "Has April ever had any spells like this as long as she's been here?"

Vern shook his head, "No, from the moment Wayne injected her with the mutagen, she never had anything wrong with her. Never been sick, healed quickly from injury, and she worked out like a beast. April's been the perfect fighting soldier. I don't know what's causing this."

"The last couple of weeks she's been different." Raph spoke up, "She hasn't been working out. She's exhausted more than usual. She's been complainin' that she feels old. I just thought it was because we were workin' more than usual. I never thought something was really wrong because nothing has ever been wrong with us. Not really. You don't think I pushed her over the edge because of- you know?"

Donnie smiled sympathetically, "No, Raph, this would have happened whether or not you had sex. If anything, you wore her out enough so she could rest. It was obvious this morning how tired she is, so I think she needed it."

"But now she could be dead because we were asleep and she just started going." He pointed out.

"Raphael, there is no guarantee you would have been around her had it happened anywhere else. We can't change the circumstances. Just be thankful you woke up and got her here." Leo offered as the sensible thinker.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The doctor came walking through the double doors and Raph stood immediately.

"How is she? Can I see her?" He asked.

"April's better. Tired, but improving." Dr. Benson explained, "She's dozing in and out. You guys can visit for a little bit, it would probably help."

Raph looked back at his brothers and Vern nodding at them to come with him. He tried to calm his breathing. She was okay… For now. They turned into the room where April was propped up on a hospital bed with her eyes closed. Wayne was sitting in the corner chair massaging his brow. The room was so small with the four turtles in there, but they all needed to see for themselves that she was okay. Raph moved over to the side of her bed. He knelt down and took her small hand in his large one. Her hands were covered in small scratches and cuts from long nights of patrolling. He kissed her fingers and April's eyes fluttered open. She smiled sleepily at his beautiful, animalistic face. It didn't matter how long they had been together. She still got butterflies when he entered a room and saw only his face in a group of people. The beeping on April's heart monitor picked up and the doctor rushed over to look at it. He looked at the monitor and then back to April. Donnie just grinned because he and Dr. Benson were the only ones who understood April's heart sped up because she saw Raph.

"We'll let you two talk for a few minutes." Dr. Benson said hinting at the others in the room to leave with him. Everyone shuffled out quietly and Dr. Benson closed the door behind him.

Raph placed April's palm on his mouth and kissed it, "I thought I'd lost you, babe."

April nodded sympathetically, "I know." She replied barely above a whisper.

"How ya feelin' now?"

"Disoriented. Last thing I remember is the hot tub and then I woke up here."

He smirked, "Well, at least you remember the hot tub."

She grinned slyly at him, "Who _could_ forget that?"

"I'm just sorry this is what happened after."

She shook her head at him, "You better not be making this something it isn't. We hadn't had sex in forever. I wanted to do it. I was exhausted, yes, but I wanted to be with you so badly. So, don't make this into a 'it's Raph's fault' situation. I won't have it. This was going to happen no matter if it was sex or patrolling, so just stop."

He nodded and grinned slyly at her, "It was really good, wasn't it?"

"It was freaking incredible." She smiled brightly with sleepy eyes.

"So, what have they said about what's happening with you?"

"Not much. They're still running tests. Until then they're pumping me up with some mutagen so I can regain my strength."

"Is it a good idea to keep pumping you up with that stuff?" He asked in concern.

"I think it's that or I just lay here. And before you say anything, I'm not just going to lay here." She stroked his head gently trying to ease his worry.

Raph looked down fidgeting with April's fingers, "You know, this may be really stupid that this thought even crossed my mind, but for a minute I thought maybe you were pregnant."

April squeezed her eyes shut when she saw the hope and disappointment all at once in Raph's face, "Oh babe… That's not stupid… It's just impossible. I wish it was different, but I can't get pregnant. With all the trauma to my body when I was kidnapped and then the healing, there's just no way."

"I know that, I was just hopin'."

"You've never really mentioned kids before, Raph."

"Why would I? The odds of me ever gettin' 'em were ridiculously low before I met you anyway. We probably weren't compatible, ya know." He explained, "Did you ever want kids?"

April shrugged her shoulders, "I never gave it much thought. I guess I always had it in my mind that it would be much later in life. I was never one to see babies in a stroller and get butterflies or anything. I couldn't get my career together, let alone worry about finding a father for my metaphorical babies. Besides our paths in life rarely go the way you plan. I never planned on seeing you guys ever again and I certainly never planned on falling in love with a hot mutant. Yet, here we are life hurdle after life hurdle. So, even though I can't have kids with the love of my life, we still have a family… And Mikey is a lot like having a toddler at every age."

Raph chuckled, "That's a good point and just because we can't have kids, doesn't mean I'm gonna stop tryin'."

"I would be severely disappointed if you didn't keep trying."

Wayne stood in the doorway of April's room. April had dozed off and Raph was still in his seat asleep in her lap. He didn't know how to tell her what was happening. He didn't know how to fix it.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm so sorry it's taken such a long time to update. I really lost my way with this set of stories in Raph and April's relationship. But I feel like I'm back on track and know where I want to go with it. It's been weird since Raph and April's dynamic really changes in these stories. Raph especially is really stepping up and taking on April's health problems. It's something I'm rolling with. Anyway, I hope you enjoy,

Chapter 6

It had been a few days since April's scare. She was getting better in some ways and in others she was worse. Her strength was returning but it appeared the constant dosages of mutagen amped up her anger and caused some serious mood swings. Raph had a feeling Wayne was withholding information about April's condition. He was frustrated and trying to be patient with April because she couldn't help it, but she was on a rampage. Raph needed time, so he made his way to the gym in the base with Leo. He, Mikey, and Donnie had pretty much stayed around only leaving occasionally to go check on Master Splinter. They were taking turns helping Raph patrol the Foot clan activity while April was out of commission.

Raph's fists were punching the bag at the speed of light. He was angry and he wanted to break something in two. Leo was just praying his fist didn't go through the punching bag and hit him in the gut.

Leo grunted as he tried to keep the bag steady while Raph pounded it to death, "Do you want to talk about it, Raph?" The red turtle grunted and cut his eyes at Leo, "Because if you wanted to talk about it with me, for instance, you could."

Raph stopped suddenly and rolled his shoulders a couple of times and wiped the sweat off his brow, "What should I say, Leo? Talking about it isn't gonna make it change. It's not gonna make April get better."

"I know." Leo nodded, "But sometimes venting helps. I know you love her, but you're allowed to be frustrated."

The eldest brother could see the twinge of guilt in Raph's eyes, "I do love her… And I feel like shit." He sighed heavily.

Leo sat on the bench near the wall and Raph hung his head as he sat down next to him, "It's okay. Just let it go. If you don't, it'll make it worse."

"She's being such a bitch." Raph practically exploded. "I swear to God, I love her and I don't know what to do for her, but shit! She's so fucking mean right now. The mutagen is makin' her crazy and it's makin' me crazy. I want to hug her and choke her at the same time, Leo and she's annoyed me before but this is a whole other level."

"…Feel a little better?"

Raph nodded, "Yeah, actually I do."

He and Leo chuckled lightly.

"We know you love her regardless, we all do, but you don't have to be Saint Raph all the time. You're allowed to feel animosity towards her and still love her." He patted his brother on the shoulder as a sign of understanding and support.

"I just want her to get better." He mumbled.

Leo saw his brothers eyes become sad again. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Vern jerked the door to the gym open.

"Raph, uh, April is a little out of control and- well, come on!" Vern said with urgency.

"What?!" Raph jumped up and ran down the hall after Vern.

When the elevator door opened, Raph could hear the commotion. He appeared in the doorway of April's hospital room. She was out of her bed ripping all the plastic tubes off her arms and her heart monitor wires of her chest.

"Please, April, I need you to calm down." The nurse tried to reason with her.

"No! Don't touch me! I don't want to be poked and prodded anymore! I don't want to lie in this bed anymore! I want someone to tell me what the hell is wrong so I can get back to work or die trying!" She yelled as she kept pulled crap off her body.

"April." Raph said calmly.

Her very distraught face turned towards Raph's. Her chest was heaving. He could tell she was trying to keep the tears from the surface. April threw her head back and sighed heavily.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked quietly.

He looked to the nurse, "Can you give us a minute?"

The nurse took a second glance at April and back at Raph and walked out of the room.

"I want out of here, babe." April said point blank.

"I know, but they don't think you should leave yet."

April shook her head in anger, "They don't know what to do for me! They're not going to know and I'm not gonna stay in this bed dying while they jerk me around."

That cut Raph deeply, but he composed his self, "You're not dying. Just- just calm down." He said massaging his brow.

"You're telling me to calm down. You. Raphael is telling me to calm down. That's rich. The first one to fly off the handle is giving advice about controlling one's temper." April mouthed off.

"You're the pissed off one these days. Someone's gotta keep a level head." He snapped at her.

The tears started to well up in her eyes, "I need you to help me."

"I am helping you the best way I know how, babe. They may not know what's wrong yet, but they need to be able to watch you and I don't want to talk about it anymore." Raph said firmly.

"You think you're gonna make me stay here? You can't make me do anything. You don't control me just because we're together. I want out of here right now!" Her anger was getting the best of her and she threw the phone against the wall leaving a small dent in the sheetrock.

Raph looked at the wall and then at April. She was breathing heavily almost like she was ready for a fight, "I'm asking you to please stay here." He corrected instead of trying to boss her around, "I need to know that someone is keeping you safe."

She sat defeated on the bed, "Why won't you get mad at me, Raph? I deserve it. I deserve every bit of it. I don't deserve for you to be here taking care of me. I wouldn't blame you if you left… Maybe you should. Just leave. Leave this place. I don't want you to stay here. I don't even want to stay here. Why should you? This place is killing us and I feel like I'm going crazy. Like I'm out of touch or something."

Raph closed the door and sat next to her on the bed, "The doctors said the mood swings and the anger is because of the mutagen. You can't help it. They also said the medication would make you feel out of place and disoriented. It's all stupid side effects. And I'm staying here because you're annoying ass is here."

"I owe you so bad."

"We're not keeping score, Ape. We're just doing us."

April nodded, "Ok."

Raph took April's hand and kissed her palm. She placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it softly.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 _April's eyes opened slowly as the sunlight crept across her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept that hard through the entire night. Her whole body was blissfully sore and melted into a puddle on her crisp white sheets. She moaned as she stretched and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her gaze cast over to his side of the bed, it was empty but still warm. The door creaked open. His footsteps were barely audible as he walked over to the bed. April stayed facing the window and let her eyes close in the anticipation of him lying back down._

 _Raph buried his mouth in the crook of her neck and shoulder as he crawled over her, "I know you're awake. I heard you moaning." His large lips gently sucked on her neck as he tangled his fingers in her long hair, giving her a firm pull to give him full range of her neck. She let a breathy moan escape her mouth as Raph's tongue danced across her throat. April never thought she would know how good it felt for him to touch her, yet here she was after their second night together and it was complete ecstasy. She never thought he would be more attractive than when he was sweaty and working out, but she was wrong. Seeing him completely bare of his armor and bandana being so gentle and trusting with her was the sexiest thing she had ever seen him do._

 _She made room for him to rest between her legs as he kissed on her collarbone. Raph felt her wince a little as she made room for him, "Sore, are we?" He grinned on her chest._

 _April playfully slapped his shoulder, "I couldn't imagine why."_

 _Raph propped himself up on one arm and moved the other to her hip and began massaging, "Let me see if I can help you out."_

 _"_ _Why do I feel like you helping me out would lead to more soreness?"She giggled as he nipped at her collar bone, "God, you've got some stamina, Raph."_

 _He jerked his eyes to hers, "April, I was a virgin last week."_

 _She smirked, but kept her eyes directly on his. The grin disappeared from his face as he looked at her. There was something behind that look, something very real. Something that told him he wasn't just a phase or an experiment, but that she was genuine in everything she had said to him. That she was a safe place for him. Her hand grazed his cheek. Raph sat up on his haunches and pulled April to him. She straddled his lap. He gazed at her bed head and all. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He wrapped his arms around her torso and held her tightly. April held him silently, letting him feel everything he needed to feel. It was a lot for anyone to handle and to be honest she didn't know how to handle it either yet, but she knew good and well she wanted him and everything that came with him._

"Raph… Raph."

Raph fought back at whoever was trying to wake him from his dream about April.

"Raph!" Wayne shook his arm until his eyelids slid open and the harsh fluorescents of the hospital wing stung his sensitive eyes, "We have a problem."

Raph wiped the sleep from his eyes and focused in on Wayne, "What's going on?"

Wayne had a tired and worried face, "April is missing."

"What?!" The turtle sat up from his chair quickly and looked over at her bed, "How in the hell did she get out?"

"She busted out prison style. She waited and watched Vern and stole his key card when he wasn't looking." Her uncle shook his head in disbelief of his niece's actions.

"Uh, stole it or talked him into giving it t her?" Raph asked gruffly.

"It's all on camera. She's out of control, but I don't know how long she can be without the mutagen before her body shuts down again." Wayne looked out the window of the hospital room, "We've got to find her."

Raph, Leo, Mikey, and Donnie were in the security room with Vern and Wayne putting on their gear and watching the security footage of April's great escape.

"She moves like a ghost. She doesn't even look real." Donnie commented as he studied the screen.

"So, she made a quick stop here for the security card, went to her room to change, and high tailed her ass out of here." Leo observed.

"I don't even recognize her. Her face looks harsh, she moves like a cat, and she's around behind our backs." Wayne massaged his forehead.

Raph's face became stern and angry, "You pump her full of your science experiment, train her to hunt and kill, and put her on the street to defend the city against one of the biggest street gangs. Now you're shocked and disappointed when she's not April anymore."

"She would have died if it wasn't for the mutagen, Raphael. What would you have suggested I do differently? Let her become paralyzed? Let her die?" Wayne snapped.

"Does she look very alive now?" Raph glared at him.

"Raph, you don't mean that." Mikey said with a heartbroken voice.

Raph looked to Mikey. He looked as if he were about to cry. Raph's face softened and he turned back to Wayne, "I'm gonna find her and when I get her back, you had better have a cure for her because I know she's sick of fighting for her life. If that's what you want to call this thing she's living. And you better pray that she didn't run away from here to go die somewhere by herself because if I find her somewhere in an alley I'm gonna come back here and rip this place apart."

Raph nodded his brothers towards the door and he was following in tow.

"Raphael, wait." Wayne spoke up and Raph looked back at him, "I do know how to cure her, but it's going to be at the expense of you."

Leo looked at his younger brother with fear in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Raph asked this time there was a little fear in his deep voice.

"I'm sorry and I have known from the beginning ever since I found her and injected her with the mutagen I made that this is what would happen." Wayne confessed, "She's needs the same mutagen that's in all of you four's blood stream. She's fading fast and the only way you save her is to get it from you. The chances of you surviving the extraction of the mutagen is practically nonexistent because you've had it in your system most of your life, you've never survived without it and I need all of it for her."

"You told me…" Vern trailed off and placed his hand over his mouth.

"I know I told you it was the same, Vern because I didn't want everyone waiting for her to die like I was. I'm sorry."

"Why can't each of us give some mutagen to April?" Mikey asked.

"It has to be pure. From one being in order to work. Adding all four of you into the mix adds too many variables. That could end up killing her, too." Wayne explained.

"So, you're going to take his life for hers?" Leo asked angrily.

Wayne's face became very solemn, "Of course not. I am telling him that I can save her and I am asking him to help me do it. It is his decision."

"Raph, you can't-" Leo began.

Raph raised his hand for silence, "I thought I had lost her once and it damn near killed me. I became a drunk and I was so lost in this black whole without her. I love you guys so much. You're my brothers and my best friends, but I can't live without her again. I will not exist in this life without her, so Wayne, if I gotta go for her to live that's how it's gonna be."

Mikey let the tears fall down his face, "Raph." He whispered.

"Mikey, don't. You guys knew what my answer was before I said it. This is how it will be. You guys have to take care of April now. For me… Now, we have to find her and bring her back. None of you will tell her until it's done. I don't want her to know because she won't come back if she's knows what's gonna happen. If this works and it saves her, you let her go. You set her up somewhere safe where the Foot can't find her and let her live her life. She deserves to be free to do anything she wants to do."

Wayne nodded once firmly.

Donnie's phone buzzed in his hand and he looked down at it, "It's Splinter." He quickly answered, "Dad? Are you okay?... What? Okay, okay, we're coming."

"What's wrong with Dad?" Leo questioned.

Donnie shook his head in disbelief, "Nothing. He said April's at the lair and she's doing bad."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The four brothers busted into the lair. Master Splinter was in the living room waiting patiently for his sons to come home and retrieve a very ill April O'Neil.

"Dad, where is she?" Raph asked hurriedly.

"She's in your room, son" He said calmly.

Raph ran towards his room. Splinter held his hand up in front of his other three sons halting them from following Raphael.

"I want to know exactly what is going on, my sons." Splinter said firmly.

Raph opened the door to his old room. April was huddled in the corner opposite the door. She was wrapped in Raph's red bed blanket that she had given him before they were together. It was one of his most prized possessions in his life. She had thought of him when she saw it and gave it to him for no occasion at all. He had never had that in his small life before her. It was the moment he began falling in love with her.

"Baby?" Raph whispered.

April's head moved slightly. He walked over to her and crouched down to examine her. His fingers touched her cold face and her eyes slid open to meet his.

"Hey." She smiled with lifeless eyes, "I was wondering if I'd see you again."

"Is that why you left? You thought you were gonna do this by yourself?" He asked as he tried to rub the warmth back into her skin.

"I didn't want you to see it." Her eyes filled with tears as she looked into his brilliant, golden eyes, "I don't want to do this anymore, baby. I love you so much. Do you know that? I pray you do because I haven't been myself and I would rather cut off my arm than be mean to you. I just couldn't help it. It took me over and I want it to end. I just can't live like this anymore and I don't want you to live like this anymore… If I could wish for anything in the world, it wouldn't be to leave the country or have all the money in the world. I would wish for the day that I was told I had to go to Japan for work when you told me not to go. I wish I could go back to that moment and listen to you because if I had we would be in my apartment right now watching TV and eating pizza and waiting for a late enough hour to go to bed and make love, as normal as we would ever be. I would kill for that. I feel like that's my heaven and I want to go. Please, just let me go."

Raph choked back tears as he watched her speak. She was in pain and she wanted nothing more than to be gone, "That's not an option, baby. Let me see your arm." Raph took a syringe from his ouch and injected it into April, "Wayne gave this to me. It's just enough mutagen to get us back to the base. I did it, babe. We're all set. Wayne figured out what to do to make you better and then we're outta here. We're gonna go wherever we want and it's just gonna be us. We'll get an apartment and watch TV and eat pizza if that's what you want, but right now I need you to come with me."

"Are you serious?" April questioned, "You promise it's all going to be fixed and we can do that?"

Raph swallowed hard because it was the hardest lie he would ever tell anyone, especially her, "Yeah, I promise. I'm getting you outta there."

April smiled through the tears at the thought of it all being over and suddenly she began convulsing in Raph's arms.

"April! Babe! Help me!" Raph yelled.

A panicked Splinter had been standing at the door listening to his son talk to April. He ran for Leo.

"Leonardo!" Splinter's voice echoed through their underground home.

"Leo, call Wayne! We have to do it here! Something is going wrong. Donnie, come help me with her! She's dying."

April could hear Leo, Raph, and Donnie around her. They were all panic stricken and Raph was crying as he waited for instruction from Donnie. Raph saw April's eyes rolling back as she was becoming limp.

"Stay with me, April! Stay with me! I love you! I love you so much, you do not leave me here! Do you hear me?!" He kept his hands on her face and Donnie continued to work.

April heard Raph, but she couldn't respond. She tried her hardest to keep listening to him. His gruff voice was one of the few things that gave her any comfort in the world. She tried to hold on to his voice, but it was fading away from her. She was fading and it was the sweetest feeling she had felt in a long time.

But her sweet feeling was be intruded upon by a very annoying beeping sound that persisted her mind. She wanted the silence, but the beeping was deafening.

"Can she hear me?" Raph's voice came from nowhere over the beeping.

"Most likely. Looking at her vitals, it appears the mutagen transfusion was a success. Talk to her." Wayne responded.

"Baby, everything is alright. Everything is just like I promised. I'm waiting for you." Raph whispered in her ear.

April was so confused. She felt stuck between a dream and reality. She wanted to answer him. _Answer him!_ She pushed herself she wanted him to know she was listening. _Answer him now!_ April opened her eyes. She blinked a few times to clear her vision. It was impeccable. She was in Donnie's lab and Raph's smiling face was looking back at her.

"What's going on? What happened?" April questioned.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

April looked around for a second thinking about the question, "I feel… I feel like myself again." She sat up and there they all were waiting for her.

"Hey, Angel Cakes, it's good to see that face again." Mikey walked over and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around Mikey as tightly as she could.

Over his shoulder, April saw Donnie's face, "Donnie."

Donnie wiped the tear from his eye, "You look like yourself again." He wrapped his arms around her as well.

Finally, Leo stood by her bed, "I thought we were never gonna see you again."

"I thought I was never going to see you guys again." She replied and hugged him.

Leo looked at Raph as he hugged April and they nodded once to each other.

"Where's Vern?" She asked.

"He's back at the base getting all your stuff packed up." Wayne answered, "I don't want you to ever have to come back there again."

She nodded, "Thank you, Wayne."

"You're welcome, kiddo." He kissed her forehead.

April's eyes searched the room for a face that was missing, "Where's Splinter?"

The four turtles looked at one another and then at April. Raph gently patted her arm and handed her a piece of folded paper.

"We're gonna give you a minute. Come out when you're ready." Raph explained and kissed her. He followed his brothers and Wayne out of the room as a confused April watched them go.

She opened up the paper and began to read:

 _My dearest April,_

 _If you are reading this, then that means everything worked out as it should have. I have always tried to be honest and let my sons live their lives, however in this instance I felt I needed to step in. I'm afraid I was eavesdropping when Raphael found you in his room and I could hear my son's heart breaking into a thousand pieces. The original mutagen was needed to save you and as I'm sure you know Raphael was the first to offer himself up to save you. I could not live with myself knowing his sacrifice would keep you two apart. He lives for you and you for him. So, I did my fatherly duty to both of you._

 _You have always sacrificed so much for us, April and there was never anything in this life I could do to repay you until now. You have always loved us as if we came from the same family and you treated my sons as equals, you never ran from them or me, and quickly, you stole the heart of my toughest of sons and made him into the best person I could know. You gave him peace in a life of turmoil and I'm forever grateful to you._

 _I do not want your tears and I do not want you to dwell on this because death does not scare me. This is what I wanted to do for you and my sons because no one can take care of my boys like you can so I know they are in the most capable hands in this life. You are an angel and I love you, my daughter._

 _With all my love,_

 _Splinter_

April threw her hand over her mouth as a sob leapt from her body. She couldn't believe her eyes. Splinter was gone and she was here in his place to pick up the pieces and make another life for all of them. And she was going to do just that.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Two week later

It was raining buckets around one in the morning. A drenched April and four turtles met Wayne, Vern, and Casey Jones at the Little Green Street Burial Ground at Liberty Place. It was a discrete cemetery in Manhattan that Wayne knew of being a history buff. He pulled a few strings and secretly had Splinter buried after hours. They all decided to have a small ceremony in the night when his head stone was to be ready.

The group of eight stood soaking wet in a circle around Splinter's grave with the newly engraved piece of stone that simply said "Here lies our loving Father." Mikey was the first to break down as they stood looking upon Splinter's final resting place. There were footsteps behind them and they turned to see a man in a white collar. The turtles tensed up.

"It's alright, guys." Wayne assured them, "He's a preacher friend of mine and I asked him to come say a few words."

The four turtles nodded in acceptance and braced themselves for the wave of emotions.

The preacher took his place behind Splinter's headstone and looked from one end of the group to the other with a look of hope. He cleared his throat, "We gather here tonight to lay to rest a great man not known by many, but nonetheless a loving mentor, teacher, and father…"

As April stood there listening to his words, she took her time to look at each of the turtles and really study and remember every feature and detail of their grief. A huge part of her was carrying around the guilt that weighed on her from her life being spared because of Splinter's unbelievable sacrifice. Each one of them had been through so much and only made it through this far due to Splinter's care and attention. Now, he gave her the gift of life and in the same token the responsibility of keeping everyone safe. How would she ever fill his shoes? How would she handle Mikey with the sensitivity Splinter had, or Donnie with the logistics, or Leo with the trust, or Raph? Raph with tough love? Would he ever look at April with regret or unhappiness over losing his father for her? Would any of them eventually feel that way towards her?

She knew what Splinter was thinking. He knew if Raph gave his life for her, she would have ended hers if he was not in it. Splinter didn't want anyone to lose anyone. He believed in their love so much that he dies for it. April choked up as she thought about it. She thought about what Splinter could have said to his sons for them to let him give his own life. How did he convince them? April had spent years watching the turtles fiercely protect their father and they let him do this. She only wished she could have told him goodbye and felt his comforting paw on her shoulder one last time.

Raph stood crying in the rain next to his brothers. He stared so hard at the grave as if he was trying to see through the ground. He couldn't believe his father was gone. He looked to April, the love of his life and felt so much joy that she was alive until he remembered that his father was gone. Raph was ready to give up his own life to save April and he would do it if the need ever arose again. He would give her a thousand lives if he could. He thought about what Splinter said to them when he made his choice, _"My sons, I have lived a full life. I have had love and children and adventure and friends. I have had so much that so many people haven't ever had and I am just a simple rat. I am old and I am in bad health. Why would I want to die old and sick for nothing when I can choose to do it now and save the life of a young woman we all love more than life itself? I know any one of you would do this for her and I know Raphael was planning on doing it. But as his father, I cannot allow my son to die when he has so much life ahead of him. All of you do and I want you all to spend it with April. You shed the tears you need to shed and move on from this. I do not want you to dwell on my absence, but bask in it because it means that April can stay with you and that is how it should be. None of us are here forever and I want the five of you to be together for the rest of your lives. I love you all more than I can ever say."_

"…I say to Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo your Father is at peace and his love for all of you lives on through the four of you. For as much as it has pleased our Heavenly Father in His wise providence to take unto Himself our beloved Splinter, we therefore commit his body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…" The preacher finished the ceremony and they each placed a rose on the grave and said their goodbyes.

Casey and Vern came back to the lair with the others. They decided to all spend the night together as a family. It seemed healing began with the family and whether they meant to or not they were the tightest, strangest, most unbreakable family. Being together and never forgetting who they were as a group was essential to get through losing the patriarch of the family.

Raphael went to the kitchen for a beer and sat at the table to drink it in silence. The lair was silent and he thought everyone was asleep. He popped the top on the edge of the table and ran his finger over the delicate markings that were left from years of popping bottle caps. He smiled at the scuffs and how Splinter would shake his head at the barbarism of his sons, but he had given up saying anything because with four large ninja's for sons you might as well have bulls in a China shop. Raph chuckled as he thought about those little notched in the table then he realized he wasn't alone. He looked up and saw Mikey standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

Raph reached behind him into the fridge and grabbed Mikey a beer and set it on the table. The youngest turtle sat next to his brother and popped the bottle cap on the edge of the table and took a long gulp.

"How you holding up?" Raph asked patting Mikey on the shoulder.

Mikey sat for a moment in silence and Raph waited patiently for him to speak. Mikey set his beer on the table and his face crumpled and his hands flew to his face as he just sobbed as hard as he could. His shoulders shook as he cradled his head on the table unable to speak. He just kept crying. Raph placed his hand on the back of his baby brother and laid his head on his shoulder as Mikey cried. After a few minutes, Mikey's sobs began to slow and he lifted his head up to wipe his tears.

"I'm sorry." Mikey said sniffling.

"Don't be sorry. We lost Dad. Cry all you want."

"We didn't lose him. He left us." Mikey added painfully.

"I don't think he'd want you to think of it that way." Raph reasoned.

Mikey took a deep breath to calm down, "Whether that's what he wants me to think or not, I feel like I've been left… I know Dad was old and sick but I wasn't ready."

"None of us were, bro. It happened so quick. We had minutes to deal with it. I can't believe he won't be in his big chair and his tea and candles anymore." He said thoughtfully.

"I knew it would happen. When you ran back to April and Sensei made us tell him what you were about to do, something clicked in his eyes. It was like he just knew this was the way he was meant to go. I just knew he wasn't going to let you do it. Once his mind was made up there was nothing else we could do but make our peace and let him go. I feel like we've been losing for a long time now and I just want it to stop. We lost April and then we lost you and now we lost Dad. The difference is that we got you two back and Dad is just gone… Raph, I don't blame April. I just miss him so much." Mikey clarified.

Raph nodded in understanding and they sat in a very therapeutic silence while they tried to accept and understand their father's decision.

April went to the bedroom to change out of her wet clothes and to think about the last week. She threw on a big red t-shirt and grey sweat pants and wrapped up the red blanket. She sat there on the bed and wiped the runny makeup off her face and hid under the blanket as if it made her invisible.

She heard the door open and she knew it was Raph. He was the only one that never knocked. The bed shifted when he sat next to her and his large green fingers lifted the blanket up enough for him to peek in at her.

"What are you doing in there?" He asked in a raspy, tired voice.

"Just thinking."

"About?" He pushed as he stood up and took his gear off to get ready for the rest of the night.

April removed the blanket from the top of her head, "Splinter… Raph… how do you know you won't end up hating me because I'm here and he's not?"

Raph's eyes grew large in shock and he turned to look at her, "You can't be serious? I hope that's not a legit question." April kept staring at him waiting for a response, "I could never hate you for anything, much less being alive."

"But-" April began.

"But nothin'. I am devastated that my father is gone. There's no gettin' around that, but I love you and I could never hate the fact that he gave up his life so I could spend mine with you. His sacrifice was for all of us. You saved all our lives since day one when we were just little science experiments and you've done it so many times since then. His death was not in vain. Don't ever doubt that. If I ever seem mad at you sometime in the future, it'll be for some of your other annoying shit." He grinned slightly.

"When did you become so articulate?" She asked.

"I've been hanging with you for a while now. I guess you rubbed off on me." He joked.

"What about the others?" She asked as if she was scared to hear the answer.

Raph sighed and sat back down beside her, "Are you really so unsure about how they all feel about you? After all we've been through for how long and you're worried about how they feel about you?"

"I know they love me I'm just so scared that this will come back to haunt me because he made a choice to save me."

"Dad made the decision. No one asked him to do it. He was free to do whatever he wanted and he did what he wanted. So, let's just do our damnedest to move forward and figure this shit out. I am so sick of looking over our shoulders." He said putting his arm April.

"I don't hate that idea, Raph." She said putting her forehead to his, "How are you?"

He shook his head against hers, "I don't want to think about it or talk about it anymore. We haven't even celebrated the fact that you're healed and back to old April, so at least for the next few hours I want to feel good."

Raph moved in slowly and kissed April gently. She slipped the blanket off her arms and cradled his face in her hands. Raph moved to her cheek and breathed her in. He felt like it was impossible because she was always April, but now that the bad mutagen was gone it seemed like all the little details that he normally wouldn't notice are back, like the feel of her skin, the smell of her hair, the soft suppleness of her body was altered ever so slightly and he hadn't realized until right this second. He hadn't realized how fine tuned everything was. He took in every scent he came across. Every fresh scent he crossed brought back another memory.

They took their time. April felt like it was all new again. The mutagen dulled her pain but it dulled other sensations, too. It was as if she had been walking around slightly numb. Now she could feel the grooves in his fingers and the intensity of his breath on her skin. April let her head fall back and he took the opportunity to explore her neck. A shiver crawled up her spine as he tickled her neck with soft kisses and teases of the tongue. It felt so good and she wanted Raph, but something was off and he sensed it.

He pulled back from her and examined her face for a second, "Something is holding you back."

April sighed, "Yeah, something doesn't feel right about doing this right now. I'm sorry."

Raph sighed and chuckled as he laid his forehead on hers, "It's okay, babe. This isn't the first time you've given me blue balls."

She cracked a laugh, "There's something about this room now, ya know? So much bad stuff has happened in here lately."

"You're right," He agreed, "it doesn't feel the same in here…" he fiddled with her hands, "Maybe it's time to start looking for an apartment."

"Somewhat be a part of the world again, have our own place, with a big screen-"

"A king size bed." He added with a grin.


	10. Chapter 10

Very mature chapter!

Chapter 10

April and Wayne had looked relentlessly for an apartment that would suit everyone's needs. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey would still live in the lair, but April and Raph wanted to make sure and have the space for them whenever they needed or wanted it. They wanted a place with a window by an alley, so they guys had easy access to the fire escape. In New York City those places weren't cheap, but it was on Wayne's corporation's dime, and Raph and April had more than paid their dues for the perfect apartment.

Raph and April would sneak in at night to check out the ones April liked and give his two cents. They both were attracted to Soho and being close to Chinatown. They decided on a building on Broadway a couple of blocks from Canal. It was just a five story building and they were at the top loft that had been converted into more of a regular apartment with bedrooms. It had twenty foot ceilings with windows almost as tall and hardwood floors. The kitchen, living room, and dining room were all one huge space, with two bedrooms, and a bathroom. Raph loved it. It was huge and for him that was saying a lot. It took a big room for him to feel like he had space. As much as he loved April's old apartment because of the memories and the relationship that was created there, it was small and made Raph feel claustrophobic.

Raph and Leo were picking up the couch for the seventh time and moving it to the same spot it was the first time they sat it down, while April watched with her hand on her chin thinking about where she liked it best.

"Babe, it's just a couch." Raph groaned as he and Leo heaved it up again.

"Um, this is our living space. This is where all of us will spend a lot of time, plus I haven't gotten to decorate a place in a long time." She argued, "Set it down there." April examined the space for a minute, "I think that's it."

There was a bang at the door and Mikey opened it. It was Casey and Vern with the mattress.

"Knock a little louder, dude." Mikey said closing the door after they walked in.

"I wasn't knocking. I was banging my head into the door trying to figure out how I got suckered into helping you guys move. Always be outta town when friends need to move." Casey complained as he and Vern leaned the mattress against the wall.

"Well, Case, if I could send the guys out I would. They're stronger than you anyway." April prodded.

"Hey, Toots, I'm strong. I can lift just like these guys can." Casey retorted, "Gimme this damn mattress." He mumbled under his breath as he pushed it towards the bedroom.

April grinned pleased with herself and looked at Vern, "Vern, there is Gatorade in the fridge."

"Oh, thank God." He breathed as he trudged to the fridge.

"Alright, guys, I've got the desk top hooked up to the internet. Now, to the TV." Donnie announced as he moved from electronic to electronic. He lifted a laptop box and whistled, "It's about time you got something other than that stone age laptop you used to have."

April smirked as she scooted tables around, "I figured you'd approve. Mind setting it up for me sometime?"

"Do you even have to ask?" He replied as he sat Indian style in front of the big screen to set it up.

Raph and Casey walked back in the living room muttering like a couple of girls and swapping hits on the arm.

"The bed's put together." Casey announced.

"Oh, awesome! I'm going to put the sheets on and let's call it a night. I think Vern is about to pass out on us." April said as she headed back, "Seriously, Don, stop touching the electronics."

"Finally." Raph sighed in relief, "You guys wanna crash here? It's gettin' late."

Casey and Mikey chuckled like a couple of teenage boys.

"Yeah, right. Like we want to be a part of the christening that's gonna be happening in this place tonight." Casey joked.

Raph furrowed and looked back toward the bedroom, "Christening?"

Mikey and Casey nodded and Raph still looked confused.

"Tell 'em, Case." Mikey encouraged.

"Okay, I'll let this slide since you've never moved in with a woman before. I on the other hand, can give you good advice based on personal experience. When you move into a new place with your girl, you get it on in every room. It's called christening the apartment. It's like laying your claim on it with all your sex stank." Casey explained wiggling his eyebrows devilishly.

Raph's eyes got big with excitement, "You're good for some things, man." He whispered, "Well, thanks for the help guys, it's been real. Get the hell out."

Leo shook his head and laughed, "Talk to you guys tomorrow. I have a feeling you'll be sleeping in."

"Hehehe, yeah don't throw your shell out, bro." Mikey added as he followed Leo and Donnie out the window.

"Later, O'Neil." Vern called out.

"See ya tomorrow." Casey followed and winked at Raph, "Have fuuunnnn." He whispered.

Raph shook his head and locked the door behind Casey and Vern. April came back out and started throwing trash away. Her messy bun was beginning to fall and her shorts hugged her ass so nicely, he couldn't help but stare. April was completely oblivious to the attention she was receiving as she massaged her neck and stood on her toes while she stretched her arms up to the ceiling revealing the little dimples in her back just before it curved into her butt. Raph couldn't take it anymore; he came up behind her, grabbed her hips and pushed her into the counter.

She gasped in surprise, "Raph-" He opened his mouth and placed it on the side of her neck and sucked. April became weak in the knees, "Raph, I'm disgusting right now. I rea-really need a shower." She stuttered.

"I guess we'll start there." He said into her neck. He whipped her around threw her over his shoulder and headed towards the bathroom. He set April down and threw his gear off and helped her undress. Raph reached behind her and turned on the enormous shower. It had a waterfall head that came to the center of the stall, exactly what they needed for his large build. She stepped in and he followed closing the curtain. The water fell over her curves and Raph was in a trance.

She grabbed her loofah and drenched it in body wash. Her hands began washing away the day when she looked up at Raph. He was turned on watching her clean herself. A grin came across her face. Slowly, she followed her curves with the sudsy loofah. She took her time trailing down her chest in between her breasts stopping just above her pubis, "You wanna give me a hand?"

A crooked, shit eating grin formed across his face. Raph turned her around so her ass was pressing against his hard stomach and ran his large hand down her stomach until her came to her slit. He cupped her in his hand and began massaging. A little breathless gasp escaped her lips. He grasped her breasts with the other arm, playing with her hardening nipple. She laid her head back on his chest. It was taking all of her strength to keep her balance as her worked her over. Her legs were beginning to shake. Raph let up and turned her back around to him. He kissed her hard and passionately. He had the loofah in his hand running it down her back and over her ass as they kissed under the water. April slipped the loofah out of his hands and began rubbing his chest and shoulders with it. She knew he was trying hard not to release his erection yet and seeing how far she could push him was a game she loved to play. Her hands moved down his plastron in between his legs. Raph placed his hands on the wall behind April to keep his balance as she lingered.

His erection began to reveal itself and Raph turned off the water. April immediately dropped the loofah and wrapped her hands around his neck as he picked her up. Raph carried her to the kitchen and set her on the counter. The cold sensation of the granite sent a shiver up her spine. He didn't waste any time trying to warm her up. He kissed her slowly, slipping his hands under her thighs and yanking her towards him. April placed her hands behind her for balance. She pulled away from his kiss, so she could watch him slide in. A breathy moan erupted as he slid the tip in. She threw her head back as he filled her up and he buried his face in her chest. He groaned as he moved in and out.

It had been weeks since they were last together and Raph wanted nothing more than to devour her in her every way possible. She laid back on the counter and propped a leg on Raph's shoulder. He turned his face to her leg and kissed it. Somehow he knew seeing her laying on the counter, with her auburn hair sprawled out, and her eyes closed in pure bliss was the best sight he would ever see.

Suddenly, he felt April's foot lightly pushing him back. She sat up and slid off the counter. He watched her as her naked ass walk to the couch, "Time to do the living room."

He grinned and hopped over the back of the couch and sat down. April braced herself on his shoulders and straddled his large thighs. She positioned herself at the tip and began sliding down. Raph's head lolled back against the couch as April's momentum built more and more. She grabbed his face and kissed him hard as she bore down on him.

"Fucking shit, April." Raph dug his hand in her hair and pulled her back placing her nipple in his mouth.

April moaned deeply, digging her nails into his shoulders. He raked his fingers down her back and buried his face in her chest. She wanted him more than she ever had before. Something felt different about it now. Maybe it was that they were older, maybe they were more mature due to everything they had been through, or maybe it was the fact that they got to start their lives together in a new place of their own and they were free to do what they wanted. Maybe they would never be able to put their finger on what it was, but they were different in almost every way possible. Raph, especially. He had gone from an angry, immature street brawler to someone who wanted to take care of his family and put himself on the line to protect it and April couldn't want him more. She had always loved him and still would even if he had never changed one bit, but she felt taken care of.

Raph stood up with April wrapped around him, melted into his chest. They had sweated off their shower and were still raring to go. He nudged the bedroom door open and laid her on the bed. Her body laid there exhausted but she still had the gleam in her eye telling him to keep going. Raph climbed onto the king size bed next to her and kissed her lips softly. She looked deep in his eyes with anticipation; he kissed her one more time and rolled her over on her side so her back was to his stomach. His large form was still able to hover over her from his side. Raph continued to kiss and suck on her neck and shoulder as he propped her leg over his and slid inside her. April gasped as he moved and clawed at the sheets.

The sensation from this angle made April go crazy with desire. It hit in all the right places. Raph slipped one arm underneath April grasping her breasts and he massaged the sensitive nub between her legs and he kept up a steady pace. April was completely trapped, she couldn't have gone anywhere even if she wanted to. Raph felt her tightening around him and he could feel his finish approaching as her warmth enclosed around him. April's back began to arch as her orgasm escaped from her. She buried her face in the crook of Raph's neck as it rippled through her. Raph soon followed and he pumped harder into April, then with one final push his back relaxed as he breathed hard and fast.

April couldn't move. Every bone in her body felt like jello. Raph released his hold on her and splayed out on the bed to cool off. Her breathing began to calm down as the aftershocks of her intense orgasm left her.

She felt his fingertips on her shoulder, "Are you okay, babe?" He asked as he hovered over her to see her face.

April nodded, "Yes. I'm fantastic."

Raph grinned and gave her a longing peck on the lips and he pulled the covers over them. April turned into his chest and practically burrowed in his large arms.

He didn't know how long he had been staring down at the top of her head. Sleep was pulling at his eyelids, "I love you, April." He whispered unsure if she was still awake and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, Raphael."She mumbled into his chest.

He smiled as he closed his eyes, "I know."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The days and nights had started running together. April didn't know what to do with herself. She wanted to work again. She wanted to report, but she was still in hiding and she hated it. Her only solace came from getting to live with Raph in a peaceful place they had made their own. The guys would pop over and for dinner and stay the night every now and then. As the weeks went by, it became easier for them to think about Splinter and it brought a smile instead of a tear. They had gotten to where they could tell stories about him if it came up. April was becoming more confident that Leo, Mikey, and Donnie still loved her as they did before and didn't hold Splinter against her. Nothing scared her more than the boys turning their backs on her and taking Raph with them. She knew better, but it still scared her to think about the slim possibility.

Raph was happy to be back with his brothers and Casey. He and Casey picked right back up. They had bro nights and April had her nights with the other turtles, especially Mikey. Mikey had missed April a little more than he had let on. He liked having the woman's influence in his life. She nurtured him and he could be open with her without fear of ridicule. So, he had pizza night with her as often as he could while the others were out.

The group had continued patrolling. Raph took shifts with his brothers, which bothered April at first, but she began enjoying the time to herself to be a girl and clean or dance naked after her shower. The elevator opened on the fifth floor and April heard music coming from the loft. She unlocked the door and Mikey was dancing around while Donnie messed with April's laptop.

"What's up, MC Mikey?" April joked as she set a large pizza on the coffee table.

Mikey stopped mid MC Hammer, "Angel Cakes! You got me a pizza!"

She smiled, "Well, for all of us, but yes, I got you a pizza. What are you doing, Don?" April asked as she sat down.

"I'm updating your laptop again because you can't seem to get it done." Donnie replied sarcastically.

April opened the box and grabbed a slice, "That's what I have you for."

Donnie grinned and set the laptop aside and grabbed a slice before Mikey ate it all.

"So cheesy." Mikey cooed as he bit into his pizza.

"Who's all patrolling?"

"Casey, Raph, and Leo." Donnie replied.

"So, we have the place to ourselves?" April said wiggling her eyebrows.

Mikey and Donnie grinned, "Yes."

April clapped her hands together and got comfortable on the floor in front of the coffee table, "Great! What are we going to talk about tonight?"

Mikey and Donnie looked at each other and back at April, "Girls."

"We always talk about girls." April argued, but Mikey and Donnie had sad puppy eyes and she gave in, "Okay, okay. What should we start with?"

"Well," Donnie began, "we talked about flirting, periods," Mikey quivered in disgust at the word, "what to say if a girl asks if she looks fat." Donnie became silent in embarrassment, "I want to know about- about it."

April's brow furrowed, "It?"

"You know, about sex." Donnie clarified almost in a whisper.

"Ooohhh," She replied with large eyes, "Um," She looked to Mikey and she could tell he was curious, too, "Don't you think you should talk to Raph about that?"

Mikey chuckled, "Raph has eased up, but he's not going to give us the deets we want. Like what it's like and what we do… Listen, please don't get mad, but I have a lot of questions because that time you and Raph came to the lair before you got sick, I walked in on you guys in the hot tub."

"Oh, God." A red faced April gasped and threw her hands over her mouth.

"Please, please, please don't be mad. Raph saw me come in and he didn't want you to know, but it made me question a lot of things and I know you're the only person that'll talk to us about it." Mikey begged.

"What all did you see?" April questioned.

"I just saw your back… And a little bit of your butt crack, but that's it, I swear." Mikey promised holding his hands up in defense mode.

She let out a sigh, "Okay, what do you have questions about?"

"Okay," Mikey smiled and sat to the right of her, "cool. So, basically how do withstand that? Raph's huge and you're tiny."

April laughed uncomfortably, "Woman are built to take a lot. We withstand child birth. Raph and I were really careful at first. We took our time not to push anything passed its limit because his biggest fear was that it would kill me if he lost control, but I trusted him as I still do. Once we worked our way into it slowly, it was fine. We were able to branch out."

"Branch out?" Donnie questioned.

"Yeah, you know. Speed, positions, depth. I know you guys have watched movies. It's like for you guys to be with a woman, you have to really take your time with foreplay. It's an absolute must because your scale." April explained and she watched the guys faces as they took in what she was saying.

"Did it hurt?" Mikey asked grabbing another slice of pizza.

"It could have, but we did it right so that wouldn't happen." April said point blank, "Look, I know you feel like this phase will never end. Being a virgin in your early twenties has got to be so frustrating. And I know the odds seem impossible, but I really believe there is someone out there for each of you. I'm not just saying that because of how I feel about all of you. You're the best people I know. So, just remember when you do meet the ones and comes to that part. Don't be embarrassed if it's over quickly because you'll be ready to go again in five minutes and to take your time with her. So, I feel like right now there's not much else to discuss because I'm not giving you dirty details of me and Raph's sex life and it seems you already know too much, Mikey." She winked at him, "When the time comes and you have met someone and this is a more urgent matter, I'll talk more about it and answer any questions I can. But for right now I need this to be enough because I want to respect Raph in this conversation."

Donnie nodded, "Thanks, April. Not just for talking to us, but for believing we can be like you and Raph."

"No need to thank me, it's the truth." April replied. But their quiet evening was interrupted by the guys coming up the fire escape, "What the hell?"

Mikey looked towards the window, "They shouldn't be back this early."

"Something must be wrong!" April jumped up and opened the window.

Raph was coming through first, "Watch out, baby." He said urgently.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked as she moved away.

"We're fine." Casey answered as he and Leo pulled someone through the window, "But she's not so good."

"Oh, shit. Take her the guy's room." April said as she went or the medical supplies and Donnie and Mikey followed quickly.

Leo laid her on one of the twin beds and Donnie took over.

"Where did you find her?" Donnie questioned as he began examining her.

"Back alley, barely breathin'. She was left behind a dumpster." Raph replied wiping the sweat off his face.

April watched over Donnie's shoulder and squinted her eyes, "Oh, my God." She whispered. She moved around Donnie and moved the unconscious girl's hair away from her face and looked back at Mikey.

Mikey's eyes grew wide, "Is that…"

"That's Carly." She confirmed.

"Wait a minute. Who is Carly?" Raph asked confused at the fact that April and Mikey knew someone in common that the rest of them didn't know.

"Like a year ago, me and April were out on top of a building and we heard a struggle in an alley, bro. We jumped down to stop it and there was this dirt bag trying to attack a girl and it was this girl laying here. April got her in a cab and sent her home with some money and we never saw her again." Mikey explained looking over at Carly lying unconscious.

"Mind explainin' at what damn point you and my little brother were on a building together without tellin' me." The red turtle snapped.

April popped her brows up and her hands flew to her hips, "Excuse me? Watch the attitude. Mikey and I didn't do anything wrong."

"Can you guys argue about this in another room?" Donnie asked exasperated with the background noise.

"Sorry, Donnie." April walked out of the room and Raph followed her to the bedroom and he shut the door, "Do you not trust me?"

"What were you doing with him?" Raph questioned.

"He wanted to talk to me about _you_." April answered crossing her arms.

"What?"

"It was after you and I got into that awful fight at the lair and we broke up, remember? He was trying to convince me to go to you because you were so upset and crying and we were meant to be together blah blah blah." She explained annoyed.

"I wasn't crying." He mumbled in embarrassment. Raph sighed, "Mikey really came to get you for me?"

April nodded letting a little smirk appear on her face, "Yes, he was worried about you. Now, would you quit being a jealous ass? It's not attractive, especially when it comes to one of your brothers."

He took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I just always know when you're with them and not with me. It just threw me off."

"Well, I get that on some level, but I'm not going to made feel like I need to check in with you. You either trust me or you don't." April clarified.

"I trust you… But I still may get jealous every now and then." He grinned.

April rolled her eyes and giggled, "I may occasionally be flattered by it, but don't get used to it."

"Deal." Raph grabbed her waist and pulled her close for a hug.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next evening, Donnie and April sat on the couch watching TV. Donnie had been keeping a constant watch on Carly, so he stayed in from patrol and April kept him company. April hadn't been on patrols since before she got sick and she never planned on going back out. Though the guys never said anything, they never wanted her patrolling again. She didn't mind having the calm, silent nights again. The only part she didn't miss was the worrying every minute they were out. It came with the territory of being with the guys.

Donnie hopped up and walked to the kitchen, "You want a beer or anything?"

"No, I'm good. Are you drinking?" April asked in surprise.

"Recently, I have discovered the nice mellow sensation of having an occasional beer." He explained as he came and sat back down.

"Aww, yes, it helps sometimes to enjoy the little things." April agreed as an uncomfortable look came across her face.

Donnie eyed April, "You okay?"

"I'll be right back." She said quickly and hopped up.

Donnie set his beer down and stood in the hall in front of the bathroom. April had been in there every thirty to forty-five tonight. He stood and waited a few minutes. The toilet flushed and April jumped in surprise when she opened the door and saw Donnie.

"What are you doing?!" She jumped.

"Why are you in the bathroom so much tonight?" Donnie asked.

"Um, I had a lot of water." She said as she slipped passed him and headed back toward the living room.

Donnie chuckled, "April, it's a loft. It echoes and I can hear you throwing up. You're not clammy or feverish, so it's not a stomach bug."

April's throat became very dry and she grabbed a glass and filled it with water, "What? Are you my keeper now?" She said nervously as she drank the water.

"No, it's just I stayed here last night and I uh, I heard you get sick last night, too." Donnie confessed, "…So, how far along are you?"

Her eyes became wide, "I haven't even taken a test. I'm not supposed to be able to get pregnant, Donnie. They told me all my 'parts' were damaged beyond repair so, this has to be something else."

"You won't know until you take a test, Ape. You need to take one."

There was a knock on the door as April was nervously pacing the hardwood.

Donnie answered the door, "Hey, Vern."

"Hey, I would ask what's up, but uh, I guess there's going to be plenty to talk about pretty soon." He said handing the brown paper bag to April, "I got you two."

"Thank you." April said and walked to the bathroom.

"So, I take it the unconscious girl hasn't woken up yet?" Vern asked sitting at a bar stool in the kitchen.

Donnie shook his head, "Not yet."

The window opened and in piled Raph, Leo, Mikey, and Casey. Vern and Donnie looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Hey guys, how was patrol?" Donnie asked coolly.

"Nothing interesting happened." Leo answered grabbing some water.

"Where's April?" Raph asked taking the water bottle from Leo and taking a swig.

"In the bathroom." Vern answered abruptly, "Just peeing. In the toilet. That's all."

Raph squished his brow together, "Okay, Vern. That is where most people pee."

April rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks with a surprised look on her face, "Heeeyyy. You're back."

"Yeah." Raph kissed her forehead, "You okay?"

"Uh huh." She answered.

"Uh huh?" Donnie questioned looking at April.

April shrugged her shoulders to indicate she didn't know yet.

Vern's eyes grew wider than they already were. He was panicking about keeping his mouth shut, "Pizza! Anyone want to order pizza?"

Her face became tense, "No. "

Raph, Leo, Mikey, and Casey looked at the other three.

"Well, apparently you miss all the good stuff when you go on patrol. Did you guys do something naughty?" Casey asked grabbing a beer.

"Oh, shut up, Case!" April, Donnie, and Vern yelled.

Suddenly, down the hall there was a fumbling noise in the bedroom. The seven of them froze and stared for about point five seconds before running down the hall.

"Let me go in first. Maybe she'll be less freaked out." April explained. She opened the door and slipped in.

A very disoriented Carly was trying to sit up and remove all the wires and cords that were attached to her.

"Carly?" April spoke softly and moved slowly, "Carly, I'm April O'Neil. Do you remember me?"

Carly squinted her eyes and tried to focus on April, "Where am I?"

"You're in my loft. Do you remember meeting me last year?"

Carly nodded, "Yes, I remember. You and your friend helped me. Mikey he helped me, too. What happened? Why am I here?"

"Hold on." April said and cracked the door open, "Mikey, come here please."

Mikey slipped in and shyly looked at Carly, "Hi, Carly, do you reme-"

"Mikey!" She exclaimed with a big smile on her face, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again. Did you bring me here?"

"Me and my brothers." He replied and sat on the other twin bed across from her, "I'm not really sure what happened, but" Mikey looked up for April but she had slipped out of the room, "this is April and Raph's place. We brought you here to fix you up. Do you remember anything?"

Carly shook her head, "Everything is such a blur and I'm still groggy."

Mikey nodded in understanding with that same sweet face he always had. If he only knew one thing in this world, it was he was beyond thrilled to see Carly again.

April joined the guys in the living room, "I'm going to let them talk. Mikey was the one she wanted to see. I'd give her a little while to get her bearings and then go check her out, Donnie."

"Yeah, she's more comfortable with him. I'm going to let him get what he can out of her." Donnie agreed.

Casey threw his drink away and stretched out, "Well, it's been weird as usual, but I'm going to hit a real bar and have a few. Vern, you wanna tag along?"

"I could use it." Vern obliged and followed Casey, "Later, dudes."

They all mumbled their byes and April locked the door behind them, "This has been an insane night. Where's Raph?"

Leo shrugged his shoulders, "I think I heard the bedroom door close. He's probably exhausted. We all are."

"I know." April kissed Leo and Donnie on the cheek, "Good night. You know where the blankets are. Get some sleep."

She headed towards the bedroom with the blissful thought of nothing but sleep and closed the door. She could make out Raph's outline sitting on the edge of the bed in the dim light their bedside lamps.

She plugged her phone in and tossed the throw pillows off the bed, "I'm glad she woke up. It was so-"April paused when she heard a sniffle and realized Raph's shoulders were shaking ever so slightly, "Babe?" She hurried to the other side of the bed to look at his face, "You're crying?!" She said almost accusingly, "You never cry. What is wrong?"

Raph sniffed again and looked up at her with tear filled eyes, "Please, tell me this is yours." He said in a pleading tone, revealing the pregnancy test in his hand.

April looked down at his large hand, took a deep, shaky breath, and back at his face, "Oh, my God, it's positive."

Now it was Raph's turn to take a deep, shaky breath, "I thought you couldn't get pregnant."

"I wasn't supposed to be able to, but I've been throwing up so I took it because I just didn't know what else it could be." April said as she took his hand in hers.

The large turtles face squished up again as another round of tears erupted from him. April had never seen him like this before, the tears welled up in her eyes as she watched his reaction to this most unbelievable of changes in their lives. He didn't even cry like this in front of her when his Father passed away, though she was certain this was his reaction in private. She gently stroked his cheek as he cried. This was a possibility April had never given much thought to. Babies were never at the front of her brain and by the time most people would have began thinking about them, she was fighting crime with Raphael. Now, she knew she was in shock and she didn't know how she felt about it yet, but seeing Raph's reaction made her feel optimistic.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly.

Raph took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. April could feel the wetness of his tears and the passion behind his actions and it almost brought her to her knees. He pulled back and kept his hands on her face, "I can't believe you're pregnant. I can't believe… I'm gonna be a dad…"

April's face froze as she listened to Raph say those very life changing and profound words. His face began moving in slow motion as she watched him. A dad… A mom. April would be a mom. They would be parents together. Suddenly she felt a cold sweat break out across her face.

"April?" Raph said, "April."

Her eyes blinked back to the present moment, "I think I need to sit down." She sat down slowly and wiped off her forehead. April was breathing deeply, close to hyperventilating.

"Are you okay?" Raph asked turning towards her.

"I think I'm having a pa-panic attack-ck." She stuttered.

"Okay, okay, calm down." Raph cooed as he stroked her hair, "It's going to be alright."

"How a-are you s-so calm?" She exclaimed, "You're holding my pee stick that states our lives are never going to be the same. And you are so calm-alm! I've never been around babies!"

Raph wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, "I'm calm because I'm doing this with you and when I think about all the other shit we've done together, a baby seems a lot less dangerous than the past two years."

"A baby is eighteen to life!" April pointed out.

Raph looked hard at April, "Are we not for life?"

April sighed with pain in her expression, "Of course we are. I just always saw our future with just us because how in the hell are we supposed to even get pregnant!"

"So, you could flirt with me, take my virginity, be in an ongoing sexual relationship with me, but not contemplate the possibility of getting pregnant by me? I was acceptable for all those other things, but the biggest thing that can happen to anyone I'm not good enough." Raph asked becoming angry.

April's eyes were huge with shock, "What is wrong with you? Do you really think that's what I think of you? That you were good enough for sex and that's it. How can we raise a baby? You are a mutant and I'm dead!"

Raph stood up, "I think I'm gonna go for a walk."

"No, you've been out all night. I'll leave for a while." She said getting off the bed.

"No, the dumbest thing you could do is go walking around the city at this hour." He argued as he kept putting on his gear.

"No, I want to go." She countered as she continued putting shoes.

"No." Raph repeated firmly.

April stood up and stared at him, "No?"

Raph flung his pair of sai down, "No." He growled.

She sighed in defeat and tossed her shoes on the floor.

His large chest was moving up and down as he tried to calm himself, "Come here." He mumbled.

April looked up to examine his face and walked back over to him. He fidgeted with the hem of her shirt for a second, then Raph took her without warning and wrapped her around him. He kissed her hard and laid her on the bed, taking his place on top of her.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled into her neck.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It was spring and April's baby bump had popped. She was about four months along and so far it was smooth sailing. The baby seemed to be looking very normal on the ultra sounds and that was about the only thing keeping April calm. She and Raph had not had sex ever since they found out for fear of something happening to the baby and now spring was here. The turtle mating season and Raph was pumping so much iron that April couldn't sleep from the clanging.

Carly had been staying down in the lair with Mikey, Leo, and Donnie. She and Mikey had something special between them and though Mikey wasn't sure if it was intimate or not, he had a girl other than Angel Cakes, a girl that he felt like was his. Raph had April and Mikey had Carly.

Everything seemed to be falling into place and that is what scared April more than anything. One slip and the domino effect would begin. Raph's brains were in his biceps in spring time. While April was at her check up, he was in his room lifting weights. Donnie walked into the kitchen and bumped into Leo.

"Damn, Donnie, look where you're going!" Leo exploded as he nudged him roughly with his elbow.

Donnie pushed back, "Try opening your eyes, Leader!"

Leo pushed Donnie again as Raph walked into the kitchen with a heaving chest from working out for the second time already today.

"Cut it out! You guys mess up my kitchen, I'm gonna lose my shit." He grabbed a bottle of water and chugged most of it in one gulp.

"Still not getting any, huh?" Donnie surmised as he sat back on the couch.

Raph sighed and shook his head once, "Doctor's orders. Gotta make sure the baby is gonna be okay."

"At least you have the option of getting some eventually." Leo grumbled in despair.

Leo was always very out of sorts during the spring. His libido always made him say things he wouldn't normally say. But all the turtles were in their twenties and much to the dismay of all of them, Raph was the only one who could get any. And if things kept going smoothly, Mikey could very well be next.

"In just five months, there will be a baby in the family, guys. Can you believe that?" Donnie said thoughtfully.

"I know, my nerves are wrecked when Ape goes to the doctor. I'm always panicked something won't be right." Raph confessed.

"It's a baby that's made from a human and a turtle with human like qualities, there's a lot that may not be right, but the kid will be ours no matter what." Leo stated frankly.

Raph looked over at his brother with a solemn face, "That's right. No matter what."

They heard the deadbolt turn and April walked in. Raph loved seeing her pregnant stomach poking out. April was still refusing to buy pregnancy clothes, so she was rocking her holy skinny jeans, Rolling Stones t-shirt that her bump poked out of if she raised her arm slightly, and black combat boots. He locked eyes with her and she grinned.

"Your hair is different." Raph stated grinning.

April's hand self consciously flew up to her new shorter strands, "Yeah, Vern and Casey met up with me after the appointment and talked in into doing a little pampering. So, I got like six inches cut off. I wasn't sure about it. Do you like it?"

Raph looked at her longingly. She had that look on her face that she was petrified she had made a mistake. April was always big on her hair. When she left it was to the middle of her back and now it was barely hanging to her shoulders, "I love it."

A huge smile formed on April's face as she let out a deep breath, "Good. You know you can't trust Vern and Casey with style, so I was scared it actually looked horrible."

"I like it, too, April." Donnie offered with a smile.

"Me, too. It suits you." Leo added nodding at her.

Her hand flew up to it again, "Thanks, guys." April walked to the fridge and got a bottle of water.

"How did the appointment go?" Raph asked.

"It went well. The baby is fine. All the measurements are where they're supposed to be. I'm fine and I'm completely compatible with the baby so far."

"Hey, Ape. Was the doctor able to confirm my theory about the mutagen being the reason why you were about to get pregnant?" Donnie asked from the couch.

"Yes, actually. He said that the different mutagen could have undone some of the damage making it possible." She replied, "Raph, in about a month it will be time for the 3-D ultra sound, so were gonna do a night appointment. That way you can come see the baby with me."

Raph grinned as he leaned on the counter and listened to April, "Can't wait, babe."

April nudged up next to him and ran her fingers over his cheek and kissed his scar above his upper lip, "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you, too." He whispered back.

Leo watched in amazement as April so openly showed affection for Raph. And seeing his younger brother, who used to be the easily embarrassed hot head so openly return her affections made his heart jump for joy and feel so much pain at the same time. Raph was truly a changed man and it was all because he found April. What were the odds of the only woman Raph would ever be with turning out to be made just for him? The statistics would be too depressing to think about.

Later that evening, Raph and April had the loft to themselves, which was a nice change of pace. They got so used to having the guys over all the time they forgot what it felt like to have the place to themselves. They were lounging on the couch; April was sprawled out across the sofa in a large t-shirt while Raph rubbed her feet. Terminator 2: Judgment Day was playing in the background as April gazed at him while he watched it. He was just sitting there without any gear, without his mask, and without any kind of an attitude which was uncommon in the spring. He looked so peaceful watching Arnold Schwarzenegger save John Connor.

She smiled to herself as she examined his face. His face had matured. He had such a defined brow bone hovering over his intensely beautiful eyes, full lips covering a beautiful smile that was rarely seen by anyone else. What would a child bearing both their features look like? Would it somehow look like both of them? She may have been biased but he was more human to her than a lot of people.

Raph could feel her eyes on him and he looked over and half grinned, "You need anything, babe?"

April shook her head, "No, I've got everything."

Raph smiled wholly this time and shied away from her gaze. His cheeks were faintly red.

"Are you happy?" She asked bluntly.

Raph looked back over at her, still wearing the remnants of his smile, "Is that a trick question?"

"No, I mean it. Five years ago is this what you were hoping for when you were still in the lair going to sleep by yourself before you even knew I existed?"

Raph shook his head, "No, this isn't what I hoped for… It's more. Five years ago I figured my life was always going to be the way it was. No moving forward, no moving back, just endless amounts of the same thing. I never thought I'd be living with the love of my life and I do mean the love of my life, I didn't just fall for you because you were the only woman I had ever seen up close. I fell so hard for you _eventually_ , but when we first met, you annoyed me to no end trying to get me to open up to you and I just wanted you to go away. Then somehow you pried your way in and made me see what was there. And something just snapped in me. Suddenly, I didn't want Mikey around you anymore. I didn't want you and Leo doing strategy together. I didn't want you hanging in the lab with Donnie. I wanted you to sit your ass bored as hell in the gym with me so I could show off for you."

April giggled, "I wanted to sit in the gym with you, too, but a girl has to play hard to get sometimes, baby."

"The point is," Raph turned his body so he was facing April, "I knew that I didn't just want you because there was no option. I wanted you because you took the time to get to know me and made me get to know you and I genuinely fell in love with you 'cause you're scrappy. You wouldn't let me get away from you."

"I didn't want you to push me away because I wanted to know all of you. I wanted to be close to all of you and you just took me by surprise. I didn't go into that lair with the intention of falling in love with anybody. I just wanted you guys to let me in and you wouldn't, so being the annoying reporter I am, I pushed you and you could have ended up hating me for it, but you didn't. You let me chip away at you a piece at a time." April explained, "And once we started, I couldn't wait to get off work to get to you to hang out. I thought about you all day… and I still do."

"When did you know that this is what you wanted this? Like this was it." He asked.

"Do you mean before or after we had gotten together?" She questioned smiling.

"Either one. Just whenever you knew."

April thought for a brief moment, but Raph could tell it wasn't a thought of not knowing, she was trying to decide if she wanted to bring it up, "All of you had said something to the effect of being scared of being alone, but what you said really stuck with me. Do you remember what you said?" Raph shook his head, "You told me that you knew you would never be remembered for saving the city and that was fine because being a hero isn't worth anything if you have no one to come home to to keep you safe from the demons of what you've done."

Raph looked down, "I do remember saying that. I guess I hadn't thought about it in a long time because of you."

"Now, the moment I knew I was in this balls to the wall, no turning back was in Japan. When I was in that dark alley getting jumped by those guys, all I saw was you and I prayed. I prayed for God to get me through this just so I could see your face again. And I knew in that moment that if I survived, that was God telling me I had made the right decision and I wasn't crazy to fall in love with you. So, when I got home and knew I was going to make a full recovery, I made a promise to myself that I was in this for… forever because the thought of dying without seeing your face one more time devastated me." She confessed, "When did you know?"

"I knew I was interested when you started hanging out in the gym with me letting me teach you some moves. You remember that?" April smiled and nodded, "When I was doing the mitts with you and you were knockin' 'em out of the park, just jabbin' and undercuttin' like a champ and I took the mitts off when we were done and my hands actually hurt. My brothers could hurt my hands, but you made my hands hurt. I remember thinkin' how tough you must've really been to be able to hurt me and once the realization that you could hurt me physically set in, I realized that you could hurt me in any way and I'd bow down to you and take it. So, once I knew I had met someone who had the ability to hurt me in some way, but never would I started falling hard because this world is full of people who would hurt us just for being us. And I knew I was never letting you go when I saw that news report saying you had been hurt in Japan. When you got back, I knew I was yours to do whatever with."

April gazed at him and tried to sit up, but she couldn't do it. Her little bump got in the way of free movement these days, "Help, this bump is in my way." She laughed as Raph took her hands and pulled her up to him. April climbed in his lap and kissed him softly.

Raph pulled away, "Babe, I appreciate the affection, but it's not a good time to tempt me." He said gazing down at her bare legs that fell delicately onto the couch from his lap, "Oh, Jesus, I gotta go workout."

"Listen, there's something I didn't mention earlier," She chuckled at his urgency to escape her hold, "The doctor gave us the okay."

Raph looked at her for a second, "The okay? The okay to… you know."

She nodded, "Yes, he said we're in the clear. He just cautioned us to be gentle with it and not to get crazy and innovative for the duration of the pregnancy."

He let out a deep breath, "You want to?"

"He said it was okay."

"But do you want to?"

"God, yes." She exclaimed.

Raph took her face and kissed her deeply and longingly. April yanked her t-shirt off and tossed it off to the side revealing her lack of underwear, "I was going to do that for you."

"Raph, I never thought I'd say this but my hormones are crazy. I just want you to do it." She blurted it out.

He nodded, "Okay, well little Raph isn't out yet, so I might need some help."

"It's spring, how are you not fully erect 24/7?"

"That's good, babe. Emasculate me, that'll get it up." He pointed out.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, Raph. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just excited! I'm ready for you to get in there and do your thing."

"I wanna do my thing, too. We'll do it. I'm just a little nervous because it's our first time knowing you're pregnant. So, just come here." He ran his fingers through April's hair and pulled her face back down to his. April melted into his kiss. She ran her nails down the textured grooves of his shell. He almost hissed as she teased him. Then she moved her mouth to his neck and she sucked and kissed the soft skin. Raph's head lolled back in pleasure as she molded her lips to his body. April was becoming so overly excited just at the thought of what was coming. Suddenly, Raph's head jerked back up.

"What's wrong?" April exclaimed.

"Your scent." He growled as he attacked her breasts with his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her back to keep her close.

"God bless pheromones." April gasped as Raph continued his exploration of her chest.

"They're so big." He took them in his hands and mulled them around, "I don't even know where to start." He put his mouth back on them and slowly his erection made its presence known.

April looked down at it standing tall between her and Raph. As she was about to position herself on top, Raph stopped her.

"Lay down, it's safer." Raph laid her on the couch and slid in slowly. April's breath caught in her throat, "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She nodded bracing herself.

Raph placed the front of April's legs on his plastron as a barrier and April looked at him in understanding. He wasn't taking chances. He pulled out to the tip and pushed back in slowly sending April into fits of pleasure. He kept his slow and steady pace until April stopped him.

"I feel like I can't breathe in this position." She said breathily.

"How do you want to do it?" Raph asked pulling her up to him.

April placed her hands on the back of the couch as she sat up on her knees. She gazed over her shoulder at Raph who grinned at her; he got behind her on his knees and slid inside. His large hands found the large mounds of flesh and took hold of them. She let her back relax against his plastron. The sensation of his skin on her back sent shiver down her spine as he pushed upward. One hand slowly crept up her neck and into the back of her hair; he took a handful and lightly tugged her hair back. April growled in response as Raph attacked her mouth. There were so many sensations happening at once, April and Raph were both overwhelmed. He looked downward over April's shoulder to see her playing with herself.

"That's so fucking hot." He growled into her neck and moved his hand down to help her out.

April moaned deeply throwing her arm back around Raph's neck. He knew she was bracing herself. Raph sat back on his haunches bringing April down with him so she was on his lap. He began to thrust faster and April tightened around him, Raph moved his fingers in circular motions on her special little nub. April let out a moan as she erupted and Raph let his orgasm go with her. He buried his face in her neck and grunted as he finished. She was limp in his arms.

"How was that?" He whispered in her ear.

"Perfect." She replied breathing heavily.

He gently pushed the hair off her face and kissed her neck, "You're exhausted, aren't you?" He said already knowing.

She nodded with her eyes already closed, "I don't have as much stamina as I used too."

Raph stepped off the couch and scooped April up in his arms, "Let's get you to bed." April's eyes were already closing as he walked to the bedroom with her. He laid her down on their bed and covered her up. Her mouth had already fallen slack as she dozed off into a rightfully complete sleep. Raph climbed in on his side and wrapped his arm around April waiting for sleep to overtake him.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It was crackling in a pan. The sizzle made her mouth water with anticipation. She could practically taste it on her tongue. Slowly, her eyes slid open and she could smell it. She turned her head over to see that Raph wasn't in the bed with her, so she got up and slipped out of the bedroom door. She peaked around the corner to see her large, muscular turtle cooking bacon and eggs. April observed the rest of the loft to make sure none of the others were around before she slipped around the corner.

"Morning, babe." She greeted kissing his large arm as he cooked breakfast.

"Hey, sweet thang." He replied as he kept his eyes on his task, "Did you sleep good?"

"Um hmm, until I started dreaming about bacon. Thank God it was because you were making it otherwise your morning would have been rough." She giggled as she stood at the island and poured some juice.

"I would have torn this city apart looking for bacon if you wanted it, and this is all ready, baby." He said turning around with a plate of bacon to see April's naked ass standing as the counter drinking juice and flipping through magazine.

He froze for a moment as he stared. From behind April didn't look pregnant. She just looked curvy and delicious. His mouth began to water as he smelled the bacon and thought about sinking his teeth into her hip. His arm slid the plate of bacon on the counter.

April took a piece and bit off a bite as Raph snaked his arms around her from behind and buried his mouth into the crook of her neck. She gasped as his tongue danced on her skin and she took another bite of bacon. Her graving and her hormones were making for a very pleasurable combination as his hands moved down to dig into the meat of her ass before taking her arm and whipping her around to face him. He had that crazy look in his eye that only comes in spring time and it sent goose bumps down her entire body. She watched his hand as he reached for a piece of bacon and put one end in him his mouth and moved towards her mouth. She was so turned on watching him come at her with food. Her mouth opened and took the other end of bacon. April moaned into his mouth as he finally kissed her.

His large fingers slid down her back and grasped her ass so he could pick her up. Leaned up against the refrigerator, Raph slid inside leaving April gasping as he did so.

"You okay?" He panted.

She giggled almost manically and looked into his eyes, "Happy Spring Time."

He grinned mischievously and began moving in and out. Groaning and breathless with every move. Her toes curled into the back of his thighs pushing him for more. And nothing was more dangerous than them getting it on in the kitchen because the guys could walk in at any time, but he didn't care. His animal instincts took over when he saw her standing there for him to take.

Raph opened his eyes to see her face. It was beautiful being able to see every sensation come across her face as it hit her. She could feel him looking at her so she opened her eyes and met his gaze. He was never one for such intense stares when being intimate. Part of him felt self conscious because of who he was, but he didn't want to look away this time. He held her gaze and she held his. It pushed both of them over the edge but they didn't look away as completion over took them. He held onto April as he backed away from the refrigerator and slid down the side of the island until they hit the floor. He took her face in his hands so he could look at her and kiss her deeply.

"I fucking love you, April."

She grinned kissing him again.

Raph reached for his shorts that were laying on the kitchen floor and found something in the pocket. He put his hands back to her face and gently pulled her back. She examined his face. His eyes looked downward, so she did the same only to see a ring pinched between two fingers. Her eyes got big and she looked back at his face and he had peace in his eyes.

"Marry me." It just rolled off his tongue. He was confident and ready and knew what he wanted and it was her.

She looked back down at the ring and back at him, "Yes."

That grin spread across his face and he slipped the large princess cut diamond on her finger.

"Perfect fit." He said gazing at the ring with his promise on her finger.

April admired him, "We already knew that." She said and he knew it wasn't the ring she was talking about, but the two of them.


End file.
